This week's Nintendo Download is here, bringing with it a double dose of overpriced Game Boy classics and a load of other things you've probably never heard about. Let's get right to it, shall we?
When I first heard that the Nintendo 3DS would allow gamers to download and play classic Game Boy titles, the first two games I thought of were definitely not Qix or Fortified Zone, yet here they are, ready to play for a mere three or four dollars a pop, about the same price you can find the cartridges on eBay.
Not the most exciting eShop releases, but who needs the eShop when you've got Just Jam for WiiWare and Make-Up & Style for DSiWare? Are you feeling the excitement yet?
WiiWare
Just Jam
Publisher: Big John Games
Price: 800 Wii Points
Get ready to mix, match and lay down your own tunes with this live music maker. Do you like music? Then it's time to feel the groove with Just JAM. Pick up that Wii Remote controller and get ready to mix, match and lay down your own tunes. Move it, shake it and rock the house as you control the entire band. Just JAM offers a live music experience featuring your favorite genres and cool artists, including pop, rock, techno, alternative and hip-hop tracks to get you on your feet.
eShop (3DS)
Qix
Publisher: Nintendo
Original Platform: Game Boy
Price: $2.99
Twisting pix with clever tricks – that's the challenge of Qix. Your objective is to claim as much of the screen as possible. However, Qix will try to disrupt you at every turn by rotating, stretching, shortening and changing directions. It's sneaky, it's snaky, it's an unpredictable energy field. Qix will try to catch your diamond cursor before you can complete a box. Once the box is complete, you've taken over that part of the screen. But watch out for the moving Sparx and the Fuse. If they catch you, the game will be over in an instant. To complete a level, claim 75 percent or more of the screen. With more enemies to dodge, each level will be more difficult than the last.
Fortified Zone
Publisher: Jaleco
Original Platform: Game Boy
Price: $3.99
To fight the enemies and destroy their base, teamwork is a must. Originally released in 1991, this popular action game allows two characters to be used alternately. Now making its debut on the Nintendo eShop, Fortified Zone brings four multi-room levels of heavy fire and explosions, as well as the "Sound Boy" mode that lets you listen to the music tracks outside of the action. Enemy forces have created a gigantic fortress in a critical zone, and reports indicate that they are developing a powerful secret weapon. Secret agents Masato Kanzaki and Mizuki Makimura have been dispatched to infiltrate the fortress and venture to the heart of the complex to destroy it. Masato and Mizuki have their own unique abilities, and they will need to tag-team in order to breach the enemies' defenses.
DSiWare (DSi and 3DS)
Jewel Keepers: Easter Island
Publisher: Nordcurrent
Price: 500 DSi Points / $4.99
Welcome to Jewel Keepers: Easter Island, an absorbing match-three game with mind-blowing visuals and an engaging storyline. This game will keep you entertained for hours as you travel across Easter Island and help to unravel its mysteries.
Make-Up & Style
Publisher: Cypronia
Price: 500 DSi Points / $4.99
Become a makeup artist! Allow your creativity to run wild as a famous makeup artist with realistic makeup tools. You can even create a 3D face – simply take picture of your face, place it onto a 3D face and apply makeup. Complete various missions and become a professional makeup artist.
Features:
- Create thousands of different faces
- Use the stylus to precisely apply makeup to the 3D face
- 16 types of makeup tools including brushes, mascara, lipsticks and eye pencils
- 23 missions with a humorous storyline in Career mode
Roller Angels
Publisher: Agetec
Price: 500 DSi Points / $4.99
Dark days have befallen the town of Blissburg. Roller Angels is a side-scrolling platform game in which an alien race known as the Monodrones is stealing the town's precious colors. It's up to the Roller Angels to roll into action and restore color to their beloved town. With the help of Dr. Lionel, who developed a special spray paint, the angels use the spray paint to bring color back.
Farm Frenzy
Publisher: Alawar Entertainment
Price: 500 DSi Points / $4.99
Get a load of the country life in Farm Frenzy, a super-fun arcade game that lets you show Old MacDonald how it's done. Slip into a pair of overalls and try your hand at running a farm. From tending to the fields where your cows graze to gathering eggs for sale at the town market, Farm Frenzy lets you give Old MacDonald a run for the money!